Inflation and supply chain issues send the cost of Easter staples soaring in the United States. Even if prices aren’t as eye-popping as they were last year, eggs and chocolate are seeing a price spike once again, the international V4NA news agency reported.
A dozen eggs cost around 2.99 dollars in the United States, the USA Today wrote, citing Federal Reserve data. While this figure is lower than the whopping average of 4.82 dollars that consumers were paying last year, the price is creeping back up – partially due to the avian flu.
Outbreaks of bird flu, or avian flu, have a direct correlation with the rise and fall of egg prices. Consumers faced the brunt of record-high inflation under the Biden administration in 2022, but the price of eggs was still noticeably impacted by a January 2023 flu strain, KIRO7 television in Seattle reported. A more recent outbreak that began in November caused prices to go up in the months after.
Outbreaks that continued through December affected 11.4 million birds, according to figures released by the US Department of Agriculture.
Other factors driving up egg prices include the rising costs of chicken feed, remnants of the coronavirus pandemic, and even the Russia-Ukraine War.
However, it is not just hen eggs that have gone up in price, chocolate eggs are more expensive too. The Courier-Journal has documented the rising prices of Easter sweets and the reasons, pointing out:
changing weather has threatened cocoa tree health and production in West African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast – from where the vast majority of the global cocoa supply originates.
Recent high amounts of rainfall damaged the cocoa trees, and impending dry temperatures and winds coming from this year’s El Nino will make for even harsher conditions for cocoa farmers.
Cover photo: Illustration (Photo: Nandor Veres)
